All Suited Up

Last Saturday was another beautiful day in Winnipeg and we were thrilled to celebrate the marriage of our little sister, Jill. How fun (and stressful) when the wedding is in your immediate family. Chris was an usher, Carson was a jr usher and my little man Caleb was the best ringbearer ever! The dinner we had on Thurs night was great as the weather blazed and everyone had a fun time swimming in my in laws pool. You should have seen the fun the kids were having! Then we also had a fire and got to know all of Dave's relatives and their friends from BC. Then on Fri we went to the wedding location at the U of M where we had the rehearsal. The kids were a bit of a gong show but I was geared up for that. It is so neat to see everything come together. Then on Sat my mom came over to help me as Chris went go karting with all the guys. At 1230 we had to be at mom and dad's for pictures. This went smoothly and we all made it to the ceremony on time. After the ceremony we took pictures around the U of M and then we had a bit of time to go home and let the dog out as we live really close. It was nice to freshen up a bit. The cocktail hour on the patio was beautiful and they handed out wine and there were appetizers too. Then at 6 the festivities started and thanks to my mom and Stacey, Chris and I enjoyed the adult table and the wonderful meal without our kids. Who were well behaved by the way due to Jill's thoughtful packages that she made them with coloring books and stuff. We dined on steak and chicken and baby potatoes and corn on the cob and wonderful desserts. The speeches were great and then the dance began. We had so much fun and the kids just had a blast! You should have seen them all cutting a rug! Dancing to "Dynamite" was for sure the highlight. We ended up chatting with family and friends and stayed until 1130 which was fun for the boys! The next day we went swimming at mom and dad's again because it was another scorcher. On monday, Carson's twin friends invited us to join them at Lilac resort where the boys spent all day on the waterslides and having fun with their friends. On Tuesday we went out to the cottage and Jill and Dave and their friend from Montreal came out to join us as they had never seen our place. We were only there for a short time but it was relaxing and very nice to visit. On Wed we went to Steinbach and enjoyed Adam and Tanya's new pool. We had a great great time! Yesterday, thursday the boys had a birthday party to go to and today, fri they are sleeping as I type this...You think they're exhausted?! Oh man, get our fun in now because soon we will be starting to fix our drywall and then paint the whole house. This is something I can hardly think about without getting hives. We are anticipating packing up the house and moving out!? The details aren't worked out but it is happening soon so I can't ignore it any longer. So if you want to find me, I will be at Falcon Lake-Block 13 lot 30.

Summer 2011

So we have finally reached the week that we have waited so long for! Tonight is the rehearsal dinner for my sister in law and tomorrow is the rehearsal and then the wedding in a few days on Saturday. It's funny how things you wait so long for do eventually arrive and then just as quickly are gone! Basically I have been taking this summer one week at a time...that has made it more manageable. The first 2 weeks or so were spent having some fun play dates and just generally enjoying the freedom. Simple trips to the library are a huge hit with my kids so we did a lot of stuff like that and then the lake on the weekends. Then in the middle of July we had 2 weeks of swimming lessons where you go everyday for a half hour. To be honest, this is a real highlight of the summer. It's busy rushing off everyday with the kids but it's so fun and worth all the fuss. One of those weeks the boys each had a different afternoon camp so we were eating on the run and then going to all sorts of different locations in the area. Talk about putting a lot of kilometers on the brand new Kia Sorrento I have! Carson had a soccer camp and he loved it! The one snag was that it was 35 degrees outside! One day they had to cancel and they tacked an extra hour onto 2 other days. This made things crazy for me as I had to have both boys somewhere at the same time and different locations. That heat was pretty nuts! Caleb had a preschool camp at a nearby school and loved the crafts, games and songs. He was so cute walking around the house singing little songs he had learned. So finally we came to the end of the swimming lessons and straight away we headed for the lake. We enjoyed the long weekend as a family and then the boys and I stayed there on our own and had an amazing time. We spent a great day at the beach with one of Carson's friends from school. Then the next day we drove to West Hawk Lake to see Caleb's friend from preschool. It was a fun mommy and kids day as we had lunch at her place and then she came to our place for supper. Not something you'd necessarilly do if the hubbys were around. We spent one more day at the beach with my friend from school (lol) and then Chris came after work on Thurs and took Fri off. We got to enjoy the fruits of our labour (we put together a boat lift on the long weekend) and took our boat out in the sun with the water as smooth as glass...I love that. Put it this way, the day was so beautiful that I was able to get rid of my tan lines in time for the 2 weddings. Then we thoroughly enjoyed the fair in Falcon Lake and the boys loved the rides for the evening with our cousins kids who had also been out for the week. Poor Chris - he even gave up the Bomber game for our family night at the fair! haha. So Saturday morning we rushed back and my mom picked up the boys for the night as Chris and I were off to Winkler for a cousin's wedding. This was a very fun day with family and we really enjoyed it. Good ole country wedding! Sunday Carson had a bday party and I had a stagette for my sister in law. So far this week has been major catch up after being away at the lake and running a few errands for the wedding. Chris has been busy at work and then has been laying sod with a few helpers each night and our yard is looking amazing...what a long time coming! Well here's to my sister in law Jill and her fiance Dave...may they have a beautiful wedding day and a wonderful life...and here's to the rest of summer...it's not over yet!!

June 2011

The month of June has been so wonderful, I am sad to see it end. I can't believe how much we packed into one month! We finally finished the rental we renovated and June 1st was a happy day as we had 2 families moving in (2 different houses) and we could have a big sigh of relief. It's always a big push at the end to get it all ready and then when they move in it's an abrupt end. We really enjoyed our time with my cousins from California and always love our time as an extended family. Caleb finished school at the beginning of June which was sad but we ended on a bright note on a field trip to the farm which was so fun...so glad I can be with him on those special days. He asks everyday about how many days till he returns. Then he squeaks, "What? 60 days??!!" We missed the lake so much that we were thrilled to invite our family out there on the Sunday before Carson's birthday and celebrate with a BBQ overlooking the lake. We had so much fun enjoying the sun and Oma was able to meet my mom on the highway and come along! After that we had the last swimming lesson and was so happy that all that rushing and driving around paid off as the boys passed each of their levels. (I had to drive way across the city for lessons as there were no spots available in our area). It was such a proud moment to see how far they had both come. Carson had a day off on his birthday so we had a special day together checking out the new playground at the park. Then the next day we had Carson's special party with his friends from school. 8 boys including Caleb at the local amusement park. What a great and tiring day! They had so much fun and it was rewarding to see Carson so happy with his friends and how much they enjoyed it. That day was also a sad one as one of my best friends moved to Ontario. She popped by before she left and it was so strange to see her drive away. But there wasn't much time to be sad as we left 2 days later for Florida. We had an amazing family vacation and even liked the heat...well sort of! I have never sweated like that before...We spent most of our time at Seaworld which was a first for me and I loved it. The boys loved it too and of course the penny press was a big hit again! Carson had his last soccer game when we got back much to his disappointment. It was a great season but a little busy to go 3 times a week. The wind up this past Sunday was a great family fun day and we all enjoyed it. Being sponsered by Tim Horton's they sure so a lot of special things for the kids. Now Carson is at his last few days of school so I fell like I should be getting all sorts of things done before he is home full time but the truth is - I am tired! LOL So lake life here we come!! Here's a whole bunch of pics to illustrate the month...